CONNECT WITH HISTORY & HERITAGE Washington’s role as an entrepreneur, as the mill was at the time among the nation’s most technologically advanced and the distillery the nation’s largest. In fact, Washington’s Distillery (open April-October) is the “Gateway” to the American Whiskey Trail — and is the only site in North America that can demonstrate 18th-century distilling from seed to barrel. allows guests the ability to get a sense of the time period by seeing the settings where Washington and those of his era lived and entertained. Just off of Route 1 from Mount Vernon are two National Trust for Historic Preservation houses open for visitors: Woodlawn and the Pope-Leighey House. Woodlawn is the former home of Major Lawrence Lewis and Eleanor “Nelly” Custis Lewis. Built between 1800 and 1805, it was designed by an architect of the U.S. Capitol. It was to gain another distinction in 1846, when Quakers bought the house and turned it into a bold social experiment. Parts of the land were sold to freed slaves to establish a free labor colony of white and freed black farmers. On the grounds is the 1939 Pope-Leighey House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and relocated to the site to protect it from demolition from highway construction. Down Route 1 is Pohick Church, where Life on the Potomac The area around Mount Vernon has a number of historic houses; visiting them There's a bit of showmanship to the galleries; Washington would have liked that, I think. George Washington's Distillery & Gristmill 22 www.fxva.com
Fairfax County Official Visitors Guide 2017: Page 22
